Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger of the Toronto Maple Leafs received calls from Matthew Knies
Sportsnet: Chris Johnston and Darren Dreger on TSN Overdrive on all the pre-trade deadline trade rumors for Toronto Maple Leafs forward Matthew Knies, and Montreal Canadiens speculation.
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Bryan Hayes: “After the fact, it was the Leafs and the Habs we were talking about, and maybe Matthew Knies’ name was there. What’s the truth here? What was actually being discussed? Is Matthew Knies’ name out there? What can you tell us?”
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Johnston: “Well, 100% the Leafs had conversations involving Matthew Knies’. You know, how close it was, I think it might have been a little overstated in some circles. Like, I have no idea that they were, you know, they got to the final stages, and, you know, they ended up missing out on a deal with him.
But you know, let’s look at the reasons why you might trade Matthew Knies. I mean he has no protection in his contract. He is probably the most valuable asset the Leafs have. I’m not even saying he’s their best player. But if you get there at any stage where they try to sell one of the players with a no-movement clause, they are not that important in the market, because they will say where they go. It’s not really, you know, an open bidding process.
And then, you know, I think, given where the season went, where things are, it just made sense for the Leafs to listen to the sides. You know, the Dregs might know differently, but I have no reason to believe they came close, came close to doing anything there.
But, you know, it was all on the table effectively, and they listened and got a sense of his value, and we’ll see if they pick that up. I don’t even know who will be making that call during the summer, but it’s obvious that it will be something that will be looked at down the road.”
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Dregs: “Yes, I can say this, like every team has a group of players who may be untouchable, but they are very close to untouchable. But that doesn’t mean that other general managers when they see the way the organization is going, you call and ask what if there is a question.
You know, what if we could put a real healthy package on Matthew Knies’ table? Would you listen? That’s right.
And I think that’s exactly what happened, exactly to the Montreal Canadiens. And I don’t know this, but I think the response from the Maple Leafs was, what are we talking about here? Michael Hage, two first-round draft picks, something else? When you put all those pieces on Matthew Knies’ desk, ‘Okay, let’s talk.’ It never came to that point.
And there, CJ is right. There were other groups, not many, but there were others. I mean, when, when the Maple Leafs scouted, did they just kick the tires on Robert Thomas of the St Louis Blues? What do you think Doug Armstrong the Blues is waiting for as part of something that comes back, when you enter that realm, right? And it would be Knies and stuff. But Toronto had never bought Matthew Knies.
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And I understand that it gets into the game of semantics, but there’s a big difference between putting players in a game and having general managers call you up and say, ‘What kind of deal can we take to enjoy that possibility?’ And that’s where the Knies and Maple Leafs were.
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